This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

City targets Beach cat hoarder

For Neil Downey, who’s been living with the stench of cat waste for so long he’s become desensitized, the arrival of masked men in white coveralls at the Beach property next to his was “a miracle. It’s just a miracle.’’

These are some of the Beech Ave. hoarder's cats which have been taken in by a local veterinarian and are being treated. They'll be up for adoption when well. (Supplied)

While flies — “a constant plague’’ — buzzed around his porch, the 71-year-old retiree thanked his neighbours who’ve been calling city officials and trapping cats and kittens lured from the second-storey window of the Beech Ave. home of a cat hoarder.

Downey’s “given up’’ calling the city about the property next to where he and his wife, Angela, have lived for more than 20 years.

So when a crew contracted by the city’s municipal and licensing standards (MLS) branch arrived Wednesday morning and removed garbage, debris and cat feces from the property’s exterior, Downey was grateful — though he doesn’t think this is the end of the problem.

Article Continued Below

“I worry about the fire hazard from what’s inside the house,’’ he said, referring to reports that the house is filled with hoarded materials.

Toronto Fire Services staff were in the house Wednesday and installed fire and smoke alarms, said spokeswoman Cathy Robertson.

“We do still have fire safety concerns and we are still looking at other avenues we have to follow,’’ she said.

The workers, who wore disposable coveralls and dust masks because of the odour from fecal matter and dust from debris, were on site for four hours because the property owner failed to remove waste after getting a notice from the city, said Elizabeth Glibbery, MLS director of investigations.

Ontario SPCA investigators were also at the house Wednesday, said spokesman Brad Dewar who would not comment on the investigation.

Glibbery said 38 cats trapped by neighbours have been taken in by Toronto Animal Services and its partners in the rescue community. They are being treated, spayed and neutered and will be put up for adoption unless they are too ill, in which case they will be euthanized.

“Based on the number of cats removed I can confirm this was a cat hoarding issue,’’ said Glibbery.

Article Continued Below

The woman who owns the house was not home Wednesday.

Eleven cats and kittens have been taken in by Kingston Road Animal Hospital.

“They’re very, very, very sick cats,’’ said Denise Angus, the hospital’s manager. “But none of them are feral, they’re just sick, scared, unsocialized.’’

The clinic is planning a public “Beech cats’’ fundraiser from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

More from The Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com